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April 15, 2019 Monday Night RAW
The April 15, 2019 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place on April 15, 2019 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This was the first night of the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up. Episode summary Finn Bálor vs Andrade By his own admission, Finn Bálor's first reign as Intercontinental Champion was much shorter than he'd have liked. It’s looking like his second is going to be much, much more interesting. One week after barely surviving a returning Sami Zayn in a championship bout, the Irishman suffered a non-title loss to Andradein the latter’s Raw debut following a Superstar Shake-up brand jump. The match was a coming-out party for Andrade, who turned heads on Team Blue with several instant classics against Rey Mysterio, though he had trouble breaking out beyond that remarkable rivalry. Here, he broke out over the course of one match, and Bálor, who tweaked his knee in the bout, struggled to keep up. He had no answer for the interference of Andrade’s business partner and human insurance policy Zelina Vega, who keyed Andrade’s victory. La Muñeca shielded her associate on multiple occasions to give him some breathing room and even sent Bálor flying with a hurricanrana from the ring apron that left him helpless against the Hammerlock DDT, which spelled the end to a blockbuster debut that was either a showcase or a reality check, depending on whom you ask. Sami Zayn appeared on “A Moment of Bliss” With the possibility of a SmackDown LIVE shake-up looming, Alexa Bliss played to the Montreal crowd by bringing out hometown hero Sami Zayn for what may end up being the final “Moment of Bliss” on Raw. Unfortunately, Zayn didn’t have much use for the denizens of his hometown, denouncing them as false fans he could play like a fiddle — as if to prove his point, he danced through two encores of his theme song, spoke in French and broke out the old “Olé Olé Olé” chants to provoke some easy cheers — and who were more interested in playing “critic” and “kingmaker” than actually fixing what’s wrong with themselves. In a sharp rejoinder, Alexa countered that perhaps Sami himself was the problem. Zayn disagreed. The fans disagreed with him. And same as last week, he got the last word before departing to the greener pastures of Orlando, Fla. with a blunt, “See you in hell.” So, it wasn’t much of an interview. But if Alexa heads to SmackDown LIVE, she can’t say she didn’t go out with exactly what her show promises: A moment. Bayley & Naomi vs The IIconics Losing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to The IIconics was a blow to Bayley & Sasha Banks, but The Huggable One has taken her first step toward potentially regaining the gold. It just wasn’t with The Boss, who apparently isn’t returning her partner’s calls. Instead, The Huggable One recruited a Shaken-up Naomi to her side for a non-title tag team bout after a tense backstage confrontation with the champs, and the pairing immediately paid dividends, as Naomi delivered the victory via split-legged moonsault. Of course, the WWE Universe can only get so far ahead of itself here: The chemistry Banks & Bayley forged through years of adversity can’t be so easily replicated, and the road to tag team gold is a long and rocky one. With that said, The Hug ‘N’ Glow Connection does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Becky Lynch vs Ruby Riott Becky Lynch winning two Women’s Championships at once is all well and good, but as long as she’s “Becky Two Belts,” she might as well be “Becky Two Challengers” as well. The Irish Lass Kicker found herself faced with not one but two potential challengers, and they immediately hit the scene after Lynch dispatched Ruby Riott — snatching her hair in the process. Natalya was the first Superstar to present herself as a contender for the Raw half of Lynch’s twofer, and The Irish Lass Kicker was more than happy to grant an opportunity to a fellow “underappreciated, overlooked” Superstar. But not so fast: Lacey Evans, who laid Lynch out with cheap shots all across last week’s shows, emerged in full gear to announce she’d curried favor with the McMahons to sanction a match with Natalya, where the winner would get the first crack at the Raw Women’s Title. Natalya vs Lacey Evans After weeks of simply announcing her presence and leaving, Lacey Evans has made an impact in a very short period of time. Just one week after decking Becky Lynch with the Woman’s Right on two consecutive nights, The Lady of WWE used that very same hard right to earn a Raw Women’s Title Match against The Irish Lass Kicker — on her very first night as a Raw Superstar, no less. The unlucky recipient of said knuckle sandwich? Natalya, who was battling Evans for the right to challenge Becky Two Belts per an edict from the McMahon Family and found herself somewhat overwhelmed, or at least surprised, by the new arrival. Natalya still managed to muscle her way to the Sharpshooter, but the former Marine still caught The Queen of Harts with the Woman’s Right, following up seconds later with a standing-switch moonsault for the victory. Impressive, to say the least. Results * Singles Match: Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega) defeated Finn Bálor * Tag Team Match: Bayley & Naomi defeated The IIconics (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce) * Singles Match: Becky Lynch defeated Ruby Riott (w/ Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) by submission * WWE RAW Women's Title #1 Contendership Match: Lacey Evans defeated Natalya Other on-screen talent * Commentator: Renee Young * Interviewer: Charly Caruso Draft selection Media Category:2019 television episodes Category:RAW episodes Category:Alexa Bliss Category:Bayley Category:Episodes featuring Becky Lynch Category:Billie Kay Category:Episodes featuring Charly Caruso Category:Lacey Evans Category:Liv Morgan Category:Episodes featuring Naomi Category:Natalya Category:Peyton Royce Category:Episodes featuring Renee Young Category:Ruby Riot Category:Sarah Logan Category:Episodes featuring Stephanie McMahon Category:Zelina Vega Category:WWE television episodes